Although there has been little doubt that the race would take place next year after the entrants decided in September to fund the event themselves in the absence of a major sponsor, matters were put beyond doubt at the Whyte and McKay Boat Show at Earls Court last Friday when Lord Beaverbrook officially launched the event and we were there to see it.

We used the day to announce our team members and they are:-

Mike Barlow - Skipper/helmsman

Bob Pennington - Navigator/helmsman

Paul Carter - Navigator/helmsman

Tom Brissenden - Engineer/crew

Photographs and a brief profile of each member will be added later but we are particularly grateful to Broom Boats who have agreed to release Tom for the duration of the race to act as our engineer. As previous postings have noted Tom has overseen the installation of the engines and other components and is now installing the navigation equipment and we could not have a better crew member to look after the mechanical side of the event for us.

We are now actively seeking sponsorship from national and local companies to help with the costs of the race and have now also set the donation figure per mile at £5.00. A facility exists on the site to enable donations to be made electronically if required although we are still very happy to receive them direct to the address shown on the contact page of the site. A proportion of all donations will be split between the RNLI and The Prostate Cancer Society.

We are doing our bit for Lowestoft and hope that we will receive significant local support.